The present invention relates to a low insertion force connector of a slide type in which a pair of connector housings are fitted with each other by inserting a slide member through a cam mechanism.
Conventionally, there is proposed a connector assembly (for example, shown in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Sho. 61-203581) in which, by inserting a slide member into one of a pair of connector housings, the two connector housings can be fitted with each other with a low insertion force through use of a cam mechanism.
In FIG. 1, the conventional connector assembly 70 comprises one housing 71, the other housing 72, and a cam follower 73. In a state that one housing 71 is assembled to the cam following body 73, as shown in FIG. 2, the other housing 72 is fitted into one housing 71. If the cam following body 73 is moved to the right direction, then the follower 74 of the cam following body 73 moves through the slot 75 of one housing 71 and the cam track 76 of the other housing 72, so that, as shown in FIG. 3, one housing 71 and the other housing 72 can be fitted with each other.
However, as shown in FIG. 1, while the cam following body 73 moves from the middle portion 76b of the cam track 76 to the inner end portion 76c, one housing 71 and the other housing 72 are both held in unstable conditions and, therefore, in an operation to fit one housing 71 with the other housing 72, the two housings 71 and 72 must be supported by hands or the like, with the result that the operation to fit one housing 71 with the other housing 72 is troublesome.